1904–05 Ottawa Hockey Club season
The 1904–05 Ottawa Hockey Club season, the club's 20th season of play, lasted from January 7, 1905 until March 11, 1905. Ottawa won the league championship of the Federal Amateur Hockey League and successfully defended its Stanley Cup championship against all challengers. Off-season After resigning from the CAHL in January 1904, the Club made plans to join the FAHL. However, before the season started, the Club investigated returning to the CAHL and to helping create a merger of the FAHL with the CAHL. The teams of the CAHL were opposed to both initiatives and the Club played the season in the FAHL.Kitchen, pp. 127-128 Two personal tragedies occurred during the off-season. Jim McGee died in a horse-riding accident in May. The McGee family did not wish Frank to continue to play hockey with only one good eye but Frank chose to play the season. Harvey Pulford's wife Annis died giving birth to a son in December 1904.Kitchen, pp. 140-141 Bouse Hutton retired from ice hockey, continuing in lacrosse. Dave Finnie took his place. Regular season The Club won the league championship with a record of seven wins and one loss. Highlights Frank McGee would score five goals against the Montagnards on February 4. Final standing Results Goalkeeper averages Scoring leaders Stanley Cup challenges Ottawa vs. Dawson City In January 1905, the Dawson City Nuggets travelled 4,000 miles (6,400 km) from the Yukon to Ottawa for a best-of-three Cup challenge series. The Nuggets actually left Dawson City on December 19, 1904 and travelled on a month-long journey by dog sled (Dawson to Whitehorse), ship (Skagway to Vancouver), and train (Whitehorse to Skagway, and Vancouver to Ottawa). Largely because of the long trip, they were no match for the Silver Seven. Ottawa defeating them in Game 1, 9–2. Numerous Stanley Cup records were then set in Game 2, including Frank McGee's 14 goals, and a 23–2 rout, the largest margin of victory for any challenge game or Stanley Cup Final game to date. Several players playing for Dawson were from the Ottawa area. Jim Johnstone was from Ottawa. Norman Watt was from Aylmer, Quebec. Randy McLennan was from Glengarry County, OntarioKitchen, p. 142 and had played in a Stanley Cup challenge for Queen's University of Kingston, Ontario. Another player has Stanley Cup challenge experience: Lorne Hanna, "formerly of the Yukon", had played for Brandon Wheat Cities in their 1904 challenge of Ottawa. || According to The Globe: The score was 9 to 2 but Ottawa might have increased its proportions had they set to work to run up a score on the men who had travelled 4,000 miles from the far north in quest of the trophy. During the first twenty minutes of play, the challenging team made a remarkably fine showing agains the champions, but after that they gradually faded away and were never seriously in the running, indicating that the chief fault with the team is that they are not in condition to stand the test of a hard battle after their long trip of 23 days from the north. While defeated to-night, it is undoubtably the fact that the team will be a different proportion in the second game on Monday. |- |} Sources: * * Fischler(1990), pg. 261 Source: Coleman, pg. 112 || After the second game, The Globe reported: The visiting team was outclassed to-night quite as decisively as the score indicates. In fact had it not been for the fact of Forrest's presence in the Dawson goal the score against them might have been a great deal larger. Ottawa simply skated away from them at the whistle, and continued to pile up the goals with a merciless monotonous regularity which was farcical in the extreme. |- |} Sources: * * Fischler(1990), pg. 261 After the series, Ottawa held a banquet for Dawson City at the Ottawa Amateur Athletic Association (OAAA) clubhouse. After the banquet the Stanley Cup was drop kicked into the frozen Rideau Canal. It was retrieved the next day. Ottawa vs. Rat Portage In March 1905, the Rat Portage Thistles issued another challenge to the Senators. McGee did not play in the first game and the Thistles crushed Ottawa, 9–3. However, he returned to lead the Senators to 4–2 and 5–4 victories in games two and three, respectively. Ottawa Hockey Club 1905 Stanley Cup champions See also * 1904–05 FAHL season * List of Stanley Cup champions References * * * * Category:Ottawa Senators (original) Category:Ottawa Senators seasons Category:1904 in hockey Category:1905 in hockey